Keke Palmer opens up about how social media became a place of freedom for her growing up
Since entering the entertainment industry as a child, Keke Palmer has learned to take up space and keep the internet yearning for more.
On Monday (July 10), the 29-year-old multihyphenate took to social media to thank The Cut for their cover story on her. Palmer also shared a picture of herself on the magazine’s front page. Next to the actress’ photo, the publication called her the “Internet’s Sweetheart.”
Underneath Palmer’s Instagram post, she opened up about her experiences with social media growing up in the spotlight. “When I started performing, I stopped going to real school. My mom also used to really scare me about meeting people and forming friends in the industry. Everything was so competitive, so making friends in my field or everyday life, gave me anxiety and built crazy trust issues around ‘industry’ people, lol,” she said. “Needless to say, I was lonely and looking for normalcy. I was, and still am in many ways, your everyday loner even tho I was working on sets and living the ‘dream.’ I so desperately wanted friends not in Hollywood! I wanted anonymity.”
The Harvey, Illinois native disclosed that her best friend introduced her to Myspace, created by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, in 2003. “And literally, a majority of the people I became friends with growing up came from the internet (Hi, Maya Debaroncelli, Karen Aydee Flores, and Asia Worthen-Bingley),” she continued. “That was when my pages were private, and I would post under an alias, haha, but my love for the internet was cemented then.”
The NOPE star also pointed out the downside of the internet, which can include people harassing others or bullying them. “I know the internet can be a cruel place, but for people like me that needed a place to go to escape the confining world around them, it can be beautiful,” Palmer added. “I still choose to see the freedom it gave me as a child, as an entertainer, and as a millennial. When used wisely, it can be a true gift. At least that’s what Myspace taught me.”
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